Softworks Blog

Five Ways to Beat the January Blues

Happy New Year! December was a fun-filled month of celebrations with family, friends and work colleagues, lots of delicious food and plenty of relaxation. Today however, is the first day back to the office for the majority of people. This may more than likely be followed by the dreaded “January Blues.” We have listed a few ways to help keep you upbeat, get back to being motivated in the workplace and beat the January Blues.

1. Hold Motivational Meetings

At the end of every week or month, hold a quick meeting with employees to share their accomplishes. Use this time to compliment employees who have gone beyond the call of duty or who have achieved something exceptional. Employees will come to expect the meetings. They will also welcome the chance to share their successes and challenges with you and their co-workers and experience a supportive vibe.

2. Be Flexible

Flexible working is one of the most useful tools in helping workers achieve a healthy work-life balance. It can allow employees the ability to adapt their ways of working to best suit their needs, while still being fully committed to their careers. Mercer carried out a survey on over 1,500 employees across UK and Ireland, which showed that 52% of workers are very concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while holding down a job. Flexible working arrangements can help reduce stress as employees working flexibly are more satisfied with their job and lives, and they experience better work-life balance.

3. Promote a Healthy Workplace

Food choices can have a huge impact on how you feel during the day. Eating small, frequent and healthy meals can help your body maintain an even level of blood sugar, keeping your energy and focus up, and avoiding mood swings. Low blood sugar, on the other hand, can make you feel anxious and irritable, while eating too much can make you lethargic.

Bring your own lunch and snacks to work. This will eliminate the temptation to buy sugary and fast foods.

Try and prepare lunches/dinners in advance and freeze them so it saves time and eliminates doing it after a long day at work.

Reduce your intake of foods that can adversely affect your mood, such as caffeine, alcohol and trans fats.

Eat more Omega-3 fatty acids to give your mood a boost. The best sources are fatty fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, and sardines), flaxseed and walnuts.

4. Have Fun

Everyone will stay motivated if things are kept interesting and entertaining in the workplace. There are several ways to have fun in the workplace.

Hold a breakfast morning once a month.

Set up a walking, running or exercise group during lunch or after work.

Create a social club (if one is not already in place). Ask all employees what they would like to do for January & set up a poll. This could range from a day trip to dinner and drinks after work.

5. Contact Softworks!

Start the New Year by contacting Softworks. Not only can we benefit your company but we can benefit your employees too. Take Flexible Working, it can lead to a healthy work-life balance along with improved job satisfaction, increased energy, better staff morale and reduced levels of stress. Having the right work-life balance is increasingly important with more and more people finding that their working day is getting longer as businesses struggle to keep up with the demand for 24 hour services. So to help make 2017 the best year yet, get in touch today!